


Iwatobi Swim Club

by ShyGuyTsukasa



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Romance, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24008611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyGuyTsukasa/pseuds/ShyGuyTsukasa
Summary: This is the story of my oc Hikaru Hazuki and how she makes new friends, learns how to swim and falls in love with Rin.
Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

"You want to what?"

Makoto Tachibana looked at the girl in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed from running to catch up to him in the hallway. He was ready to meet the others for lunch but he heard her calling for him so he stopped in his tracks and listened to what she had to say. What he wanted to really know was how she knew his name. Then he remembered that she probably asked around for the names of the members in the club.

"I want to join the swim club!" She repeated. "I overheard that you were forming one." She explained. "And I would like to join it!"

Makoto was taken aback. He didn't know what to say to that. He didn't expect for a girl to join. He realized he'd just been staring at her for a while and she looked like someone familiar…

The girl frowned. The lack of response probably meant no.

Makoto blinked and snapped out of his thoughts. "Of course you can!" He replied with a grin.

The girl's eyes lit up. "Really? Great!"

Makoto smiled. "Come with me. I'll introduce everyone to you."

The girl nodded and smiled. She followed Makoto outside.

Xxx

Makoto and the girl walked to the meeting place. When they arrived, Haru, Gou and Nagisa were already there.

"Hey guys." Makoto greeted. "I have a girl that wants to-"

Nagisa let out a gasp. "Hikaru-chan!" He enveloped her in a hug.

"Hi Nagisa!" The girl now known as Hikaru smiled happily.

"You know each other?" Gou asked.

Hikaru looked over at the other girl. "Hi!" Hikaru bowed a little. "Yes, I'm Hikaru Hazuki!"

Everyone went silent. "You're related to Nagisa?"

"Yup! We're cousins!"

 _Ah_ , now it clicked. They both had blonde hair and their facial features were almost the same.

Haru went up to her. "I'm Haruka Nanase. Call me Haru."

"And I'm Makoto Tachibana."

"I'm Gou Matsuoka!"

"Nice to meet you all!"

xxx

They all sat back down and began eating lunch.

"So what is your swimming style?" Gou asked her.

Hikaru blushed a bit and looked down at her hands. "Umm, well you see…the thing is…" She said all flustered.

"You don't know how to swim." Makoto said.

"N-No, I don't." She replied. "So I asked you, since you were the captain, if I could join because I want to learn how to swim."

"Of course we'll teach you, Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, putting an arm around her.

Haru nodded.

"Oh that's right!" Gou suddenly said, getting every one's attention. "I got a joint practice with Samezuka academy." She grinned.

"That's great, Gou-chan!"

"Kou." She corrected.

"Did you ask Rin?" Makoto asked.

"No." Gou replied. "I spoke with the captain of the swim team and he agreed." Then she sighed. "But we need a fourth member."

"Well Hikaru-chan's joining…"

"I know! But we need another boy because in the relay, it can't be mixed. It's either all guys or all girls." Gou explained.

When all eyes were on her, Hikaru blushed. "Oh, don't worry! I don't mind. I just want to learn how to swim."

"Maybe you can enter the freestyle race." Gou suggested.

"The what?" Hikaru asked, tilting her head to the side. She'd have to do some research too.

Haru looked at her. "I'll help you with that."

"Oh, great!" Hikaru grinned at Haru.

Xxx

Luckily, they were able to find another member!

After talking with Nagisa, Rei Ryugazaki, a boy originally from the track team, decided to come to the joint practice with Samezuka but just to observe.

Scratch that. He was a trial member.

Rei just wanted to observe the swim practice and not do any swimming. Everyone agreed on his proposed idea. It would be wrong to persuade him to join or even force him. So with Rei joining them on going to Samezuka, he'd see for himself if he wanted to join and he'd make his final decision.

The boys, Hikaru and Gou were currently at Samezuka academy where the pool was for the joint practice. Everyone was ready in their swimming trunks. Hikaru had her one piece swimsuit that she bought. It was navy blue with a white strip coming down both of the sides. She was also ready with her goggles around her neck and navy swim cap in her hands. She was talking with Gou when suddenly the swim captain went up to them.

"Hey, thanks for coming." Seijirou greeted, raising his hand.

"Thank you very much!" The swim team and Gou said in unison, bowing a little.

"Sure." Seijirou gave them a smile. Then, his attention drifted over to Haru. "You're Nanase-kun right? You won a bunch of regional tournaments in grade school."

"Yeah…" Haru replied.

"I heard a lot about you." He smiled.

At that moment, Rin walked through the door and went over to Nitori.

"Senpai? What's wrong?" Nitori asked.

"Nothing." Rin replied. He looked over at Haru, but he was avoiding Seijirou's gaze. He then looked over at the girl he didn't recognize and he locked eyes with her. When she smiled at him, he quickly looked away, embarrassed.

"Onii-chan!" Gou exclaimed and went over to him.

"Gou, what are you doing?" He asked her.

Seijirou finished what he had to say to Haru and looked over at Hikaru. "Ah, an unfamiliar face, are you new to the swim club?" He asked.

"Yes sir." Hikaru replied.

Seijirou smiled. "It's always nice to meet new people! Welcome to Samezuka academy, my name is Seijirou Mikoshiba and I'm the captain of the swim team."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Hikaru Hazuki!"

"Rin-chan! We get to swim together again!" Nagisa said to Rin, going up to him. "Let's have fun."

"Together?" Rin scoffed. "You guys are a waste of my time." He began walking to the exit.

"Onii-chan…"

"What's his problem?" Rei asked when Rin was out of earshot.

"We have some history." Makoto replied.

"I was thinking you guys could practice with our first years today." Seijirou said. "Okay!" He clasped his hands together. "Let's start with individual time trials!" He then looked over at Rei. "You there. Get into your swim suit."

"But I'm not-"

"Sorry!" Nagisa interrupted. "He forgot his swimsuit!"

"What?" Seijirou sighed. "You can use one of our spare swimsuits, so go and get changed." He looked over at Nitori. "Nitori!"

Nitori came over. "Yes." He looked over at Rei. "Follow me."

"But I'm not-"

Nitori took his arm and lead him to the locker room.

Xxx

After Rei changed, they started the individual time trials. It was Makoto's turn and they were watching from the sidelines.

"I told you guys I was not going to swim."

"Don't worry. The time trials are just for practice, so it doesn't matter if you're slow."

"That's not the issue!"

Nagisa went to take his turn.

Gou looked up and saw that Rin was watching them on the second floor. She noticed that his gaze was on Haru. _So he is curious…_ She smiled to herself.

"Oi, next swimmer, line up." Seijirou said to Rei.

"I told you, I'm not…"

"Move to the starting block!"

Rei hesitated, but he went anyways. He positioned himself and began doing calculations in his head. He then went to jump…but just fell right in.

"Eh?!"

…

…

"He's not coming back up…"

"Rei!"

Haru jumped in the water and with Nagisa, helped Rei out of the water.

"So…you also can't swim." Nagisa said.

"It's not my fault! I told you guys I wasn't going to swim."

"You should have told us earlier."

"I wasn't going to admit that I'm not able to swim. It goes against my sense of beauty." He clenched his fist.

"Rei-chan…"

"I'll go and clear things up with Samezuka. Sorry we had to force you into this situation." Makoto said and stood up.

Hikaru got down to Rei's eye level. "Rei, there's nothing to be ashamed about with not being able to swim." She said. "I can't swim either. So we're on the same page." She gave him a smile. "Let's learn how to swim together!"

That cheered him up. Rei smiled at her. "Okay."

"Next! Hikaru, why don't you go ahead?" Seijirou asked.

Hikaru turned to Seijirou and blushed of embarrassment. "…I don't know how to swim either…sir."

"What?" He sighed. "Nitori, would you work on teaching her to swim until the end of practice?"

"Of course!" Nitori went over to her. "Hi there, I'm Nitori Aiichirou."

"Hi, I'm Hikaru Hazuki!"

"Nice to meet you. Now come with me." He gestured for her to follow him. "First things first, are you afraid of the water?"

"No."

"Alrighty then. I want you to grab onto the edge of the pool and kick your legs."

Hikaru did just that.

"No no, make sure your legs are straight!"

Hikaru corrected herself.

Meanwhile, it was Haru's turn to swim. Rei watched in amazement.

Nagisa grinned. "Everyone is amazed by Haru's swimming."

Right then and there, Rei made his decision about joining the swim club.

"Okay then! We have to find a new member!" Makoto agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Rei and Hikaru listened to Makoto explain the different types of swim styles. But Hikaru knew them already since she had done some research. She didn't know what type of style she wanted to do yet; she'd have to think about it. She was going to take it one step at a time. With Nitori, she learnt how to kick her feet and tread water. It was a little embarrassing for her since she had gone underwater many times, but with his encouragement, she kept trying.

Nitori had told her that if she wanted to come back, she was always welcome. She was going to take him up on his offer because he was being so nice about it. She wanted, however, to also learn from Makoto, Haru and Nagisa. Each person had their own advice after all.

First, Hikaru and Rei learned how to do the turtle float.

"W-What if I drown or something?"

"Hold your breath for a long time, Hikaru-chan!"

Hikaru and Rei got into the position to float.

"Alright, so they can float."

"Slowly extend your arms and legs and try to swim." Makoto instructed.

Rei did and started swimming to the side.

Hikaru did and started swimming forward, but she was slowly sinking.

Hikaru and Rei rose to the surface.

"No good…"

Both beginners sighed.

"Don't worry! You'll get it one day!" Nagisa grinned.

"I hope so…" Rei mumbled.

"Don't worry, Rei! We can't give up just yet!" Hikaru grinned.

Xxx

Nagisa burst into Haru and Makoto's classroom. "Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Hello!" Nagisa dragged Rei inside the classroom. "Oh, hello Hikaru-chan!" He greeted.

"Hey, wait Nagisa-kun!" Rei looked inside the classroom and saw Hikaru sitting with Haru and Makoto. "Eh?" He noticed her tie was green. "Eh? Hikaru, you're a second year! That makes you my senpai…I should address you with more respect…Hikaru-senpai." He corrected.

Hikaru put her hands up. "No need for formalities, Rei. We're all friends here."

"Nonsense. It's out of respect, Hikaru-senpai."

Hikaru had a feeling she wasn't going to win. "A-Ah alright."

"Look at this!" Nagisa placed the paper that was in his hand on the desk.

"Uniforms?" Hikaru asked.

"Yup! We have a swim club now, we should get matching uniforms!" Nagisa suggested.

Hikaru clasped her hands together. "That's a great idea!"

"Agreed, it'll give our club a more of an official feel." Makoto said.

"I know right?!" Nagisa grinned. "I think we should go with this design…and this color…"

"Are you planning to put Iwatobi-chan on the back?"

"That was the plan."

"Iwatobi-chan?" Hikaru asked.

"The school's mascot."

"What do you think, Hikaru-chan?"

"It looks great, Nagisa."

"Alrighty then!"

Xxx

After one week of swimming practices, Hikaru had got down the basics of swimming. The uniforms had finally come in and she was checking out how they looked on Nagisa. She liked the blue and was a little relieved that Iwatobi-chan wasn't on the track suit. She found that Iwatobi-chan looked better on the yellow t-shirt.

"Before we start practice, let's review the events we'll be entering at prefecturals. I'll be doing the 100m and 200m backstroke." Makoto said. "What are you doing Nagisa?"

"I'm swimming the 100m and 200m breaststroke." He replied.

"Haru?"

"I only swim free." He replied.

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Makoto chuckled. "Hikaru?"

"I'll be doing the 100m freestyle with the front crawl." She looked over at Haru. "If that's alright with you, Haru. I can only swim the front crawl but maybe I can learn another-"

Haru cut her off. "It's fine. I'll be swimming the 200m."

Hikaru gave him a smile. "Okay, thank you!"

Haru smiled a bit.

Makoto smiled at them and then turned to Rei. "Rei?" He asked.

"I can only swim butterfly."

"Anyway, it's been a while since we competed, so stamina will be an issue. I recommend we stick to short distances."

"So we have our line ups for the individual events."

"That just leaves the relay." Makoto noticed that Haru averted his gaze. "But I guess that can wait to make that decision."

Xxx

After practice was over, Hikaru gathered her things and went over to Samezuka academy. When she looked into the pool area, she saw that Gou's brother was swimming laps. The door was slightly open so Hikaru walked through. "U-Uhm…excuse me…"

Rin stopped swimming, startled. He was at least half way in his lap. He looked up at where this person was and he blinked. _The girl from practice…. What is she doing here?_

Hikaru looked around. No one else was there. Why was he swimming alone? "H-Hi there. I'm looking for Nitori."

 _Makes sense, he was teaching her yesterday._ "He's in his room studying."

"Oh. I guess I can come back another time." Hikaru said.

Rin glanced at the wrapped plate that was in her hands. "What's that? I'm guessing it's for Nitori." He looked back up at her.

Hikaru blinked and blushed a little bit, embarrassed. "It's just some homemade cookies. I want to thank Nitori for teaching me the basics of swimming." She replied. "And I was hoping to show him what I learned so far."

Rin rubbed the back of his head, turning away from her. "Well, you can show me if you want." He told her, a little embarrassed.

Hikaru gasped. "Really?"

Rin blinked and turned to her.

Hikaru smiled happily. "That'd be great!"

A blush crept up on Rin's cheeks. He quickly turned away.

"I have my bathing suit in my bag, I'll be right back." Hikaru placed the plate on a chair and went into the change room. There were no girl change rooms since it was an all boy high school but it was late at night so there wasn't anyone around. Hikaru made sure to keep an eye out though.

Rin ran his hand through his hair. What was he getting himself into?

Xxx

Hikaru had come back, dressed in her one piece and ready to swim. She had her goggles around her neck and her swim cap on. She had put her bag where her stuff was and she climbed into the pool. "Before we start, let's get acquainted. My name is Hikaru Hazuki." She gave him a smile.

"I'm Rin Matsuoka."

"Ah! You're Gou's brother!" Hikaru smiled. "She told me about you. It's nice to meet you!"

Rin nodded. "And you're Gou's new friend. She told me you're not in any of her classes, are you a second or third year?"

"Second year." She replied.

Rin nodded. "That's…good." Her constant smiles were making him uncomfortable. He already found her pretty and this wasn't helping. "Show me how much you learned."

"Okay!" Hikaru put her goggles on. "…What do you want me to do?"

"Try swimming to the other side and then come back."

"…I haven't worked on my stamina yet." Hikaru grinned sheepishly.

"You're kidding."

"No."

"Okay then. I'll stand in the middle of the pool and you swim to me." Rin said, making his way to the middle of the pool.

"Okay!" Hikaru got into position and began swimming.

Rin was impressed. She certainly improved from the last time he saw her. She was also doing the front crawl like Haru. He fell silent.

Hikaru was almost to him but he noticed that her arms were going slower and she was slowly sinking.

"H-Hey!" Rin swam underwater and pulled her up.

Hikaru started coughing. She had swallowed some water. She held onto him. She was already really tired.

Rin looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Hikaru nodded. "I'm okay. I guess I really have to work on my stamina, huh." She giggled. "How did I do?"

Rin gave her a small smile, relieved she was alright. "You're right. You have to work on your stamina but other than that, you're pretty good. You learnt fast."

Hikaru smiled at him. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Rin helped her to the edge of the pool and set her down.

"Thank you, Rin. Thank you so much." She stood and went over to her towel. She wrapped herself with it.

"You're welcome." Rin said again.

"I'll leave the cookies here; can you give them to him for me?"

Rin nodded. "Sure."

Hikaru smiled again. "Thank you!" She gathered her things and left the pool area.

When she was out of sight, Rin made his way over to his towel to dry off. When he was dried off, he went to the changing room to change. After changing, he went over to gather his things. He swung his bag over his shoulders and glanced at the plate.

_Hikaru Hazuki, eh?_

Rin smiled to himself and grabbed it. He headed to his dorm room.

_She's part of the swim club, so I know I'll be seeing more of her._


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, the swim club and Gou were at the pool area and Gou was holding a paper in front of them.

"You won't believe this! I found something amazing!"

" 'Iwatobi High School Swim Club Summer Training Camp from Hell on a Deserted Island' …" Rei read.

"Deserted Island?" Haru asked.

"From hell." Hikaru added.

"Sounds fun!" Nagisa exclaimed.

" _How_ does that sound fun?"

"This took place several decades ago, when Iwatobi still had a swim club!" Gou said.

"What's your point?" Rei asked.

"We should steal their training regimen and hold a summer training camp on a deserted island!" Gou replied. "To prepare for prefecturals!" She added.

"Too much effort." Haru commented.

"This is no time for complaining!" Gou said, pointing to him. "Look at the training regimen they used! They swam long distances in the ocean, from one island to the next. Don't you think this training is perfect for building stamina?"

"The ocean…"

"Yep, the ocean! We should participate in the same training regimen that our storied swim club used!"

"Our swim club was storied?" Nagisa asked.

"Yep! Look what I found!" Gou pointed to the ranks that the previous swim clubs got.

"Anyway, right now the Iwatobi Swim Club needs stamina and summer is the perfect time to hold a training camp!" Gou said. "In the ocean, on deserted islands!" She added.

"Wait, I don't see how deserted islands are relevant here." Rei commented.

"But it's more exciting when you add deserted islands." Nagisa piped in.

"I know right! So, let's hold a training camp!" Gou turned to Makoto. "Your choice, captain."

"Huh? Oh…I guess it's a good idea to hold a training camp for prefecturals." Makoto replied. "Are you two okay with it? Hikaru? Rei?" He asked. "You two are our beginner swimmers."

Rei nodded. "Fine with me."

Hikaru nodded too.

"Hurray! It's settled then!" Nagisa exclaimed.

Xxx

After discussions on how to get there, it was decided that they'd be getting there by Coach Sasabe's boat. They all decided to meet up at the pier and when everyone arrived, they went on the boat and set sail.

Hikaru sat next to Gou. She was a little uneasy; not because of the boat ride, but because of how Gou described the training regimen. Swimming from one island to another? For stamina? What if she drowned? What if she can't do it?

_Will they kick me off the swim team?_

Gou poked her shoulder. "Hey."

Hikaru jumped. "Gou!?"

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Hikaru hugged herself. "What if I get to tired and drown? What if I…can't do it?"

"Then I'll help you." Makoto replied.

"Me too."

"I'll help you too, Hikaru-senpai."

"Rei, you're a beginner yourself."

"You're part of the team, Hikaru-chan! We have to help each other!" Nagisa hugged his cousin, grinning.

Hikaru smiled. "Thank you guys."

Xxx

When they arrived, they started to unpack and set up their tents. Coach Sasabe had left on his boat, promising he'd be back when the training was over. They started setting up the tents and taking out the food.

"Okay then, let's go check in at the lodge." Miho said to Gou.

Everyone but Gou looked over at Miss Amakata. "The lodge?" They chorused in unison.

"What do you mean?" The boys went over to her.

Hikaru stayed behind, trying to put up her tent. Why was it so hard? The boys put it up quickly and she was having trouble doing hers.

"We booked lodging for ourselves." Miho exclaimed. She turned and pointed to some lodges. "Over there!"

"What?!"

"You can't expect a couple of girls to sleep outside. Right, Gou-chan?"

"Right!"

"Come on, Hikaru-chan!"

At the mention of her name, Hikaru looked up. "Huh?"

"We booked a lodge for us girls." Miho told her, smiling.

"Oh, but that wouldn't be fair! I'm part of the swim club too! I should be staying here outside." Hikaru replied.

"Hikaru-chan." Miho said with a smile.

Hikaru jumped. That smile was terrifying. "A-Alright…" She said. "I'll come." She gathered her things. She couldn't argue with Miss Amakata could she?

xxx

After Hikaru got settled into the lodge, she changed into her swimsuit. They were going to practice today and she was feeling a little better after the conversation on the boat. She grabbed her goggles and swim cap and headed for the beach.

"If you look at the map, you'll see that there are a number of smaller islands in the area." Makoto told them.

"Deserted islands!"

Rei looked over at Nagisa. "What is it with you and deserted islands?"

"We'll be swimming between Sukishima, Oshima and Mizushima for our training." Makoto said. "The distance between each island," He showed them a map. "is 1 kilometer." He informed. "We're looking at 4 kilometers of swimming and 1 kilometer of running each circuit." He lowered the map. "Our goal is to complete three circuits on the first day."

"That sounds hard." Nagisa commented. "Can you handle that, Rei-chan? Hikaru-chan?"

"Rei and Hikaru are beginners so we have a different training regimen for them." Makoto explained.

"No, I want to do what everyone else is doing." Rei replied. "I studied the concepts of long distance swimming."

"You may know the concepts, but the ocean is dangerous. If you still want to do the regimen, you should take a kickboard or inflatables." Makoto gestured to Haru.

Haru had one of each in his arms. "Take your pick."

"…But none of them are beautiful!"

"Just go with the kickboard then." Makoto suggested.

"Then that leaves me with the inflatables." Hikaru chimed in, taking them from Haru.

"Hikaru." Makoto said, surprised. "You're doing our regimen too?"

"Yeah, I can't be the only one not doing it right?" Hikaru put on her floaties*. "Besides, you're all here next to me if something happens!" She put on her swim cap. "So I'm not scared anymore."

"That's the spirit, Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa grinned. "Now let's start training!" He put his arm in the air then grabbed Hikaru's hand. "Come on!" He dragged her over to the shore.

Hikaru blinked as she was being pulled to the shore. "N-Nagisa!"

"Hey, hold on!" Rei started going to the shore. "We're supposed to start at the same time, Nagisa-kun! Hikaru-senpai!"

"Hurry up!" Nagisa yelled.

"Wait for me!" Rei called back.

Xxx

After that intense swimming and running, Hikaru collapsed on shore. She was breathing heavily and slowly.

"Hikaru-senpai, are you okay?"

"Hikaru-chan!"

"Hikaru!"

"Don't worry, you guys. I'm fine!" Hikaru assured. "My body just wasn't used to this. It's going to get better as we do more swimming."

Rei agreed. "I didn't realize long distance swimming was so tiring."

Makoto looked at the two. "You both did well as first timers. Good work."

Hikaru wasn't expecting praise. At all. When he praised her, she was really happy. "Thank you." She replied softly.

"It really feels like we're really training! We'll be a lot stronger when this camp is over!" Nagisa exclaimed. "If we win prefecturals and do well at regionals," Nagisa put his arm in the air. "we'll be headed to nationals!"

"Yup." Makoto smiled. "It all seems like a dream, but I want to see how far we can go."

Nagisa went up to Haru. "If we place, we'll get a bigger budget! Then we'll be able to swim indoors during winter!"

"I hope so." Haru commented.

"You'll get to swim all the time!" Nagisa exclaimed.

Makoto let out a laugh then looked over at Hikaru, who was still on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll get up in just a second." Hikaru replied.

Makoto stuck out his hand, smiling. "Here…I'll help you." He said with a smile.

Hikaru stared at him and hesitated before giving him her hand. He pulled her up until she was able to stand and then let go of her hand. "T-Thank you, Makoto."

Makoto smiled at her. "You're welcome."

"Hikaru-chan! Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." She replied.

Nagisa grinned at her. "You were great, Hikaru-chan!"

Haru gave her a smile. "Yeah."

Hikaru smiled back. "Thank you."

Xxx

"Good work!" Gou said, giving each member some towels. "Was the training regimen from hell hard after all?" She asked. "You guys only completed half of it."

"It was only the first day." Makoto reminded her.

"I-I'll do better tomorrow." Rei chimed in.

"You'll do fine, Rei-chan!"

"I'll catch up in no time!"

"Me too!" Hikaru agreed.

"That's the spirit!"

Xxx

After eating with the group, Hikaru went over to the lodge with Miss Amakata and Gou. The two went to their rooms and Hikaru went to the bathroom to take a shower. She had to get that sand off somehow. She hung her swimsuit to dry and stepped in the shower. After using the shower, she stepped out, dried off and got dressed in her pajamas which were capri's and a matching tank top. She dried off her shoulder length blonde hair and then went to sit on her bed.

_Training wasn't as bad as I thought it would be._

Even though it was really tiring, Hikaru was expecting worse. She was glad that she was able to do it. She probably was the slowest, but she still did it. And she was proud of herself. Her arms and legs would probably hurt in the morning but she thought it was worth it. With more practicing, her body would get used to it and she'll be able to swim long distances in no time.

Hikaru stood from her bed, grabbed a sweater and walked in the living room to see Gou watching TV and Miss Amakata reading a book."I'm going to go for a walk." She told them.

"Bring your cell phone and be back by 9." Miho told her.

Hikaru nodded. "I have it." She looked at the time. 8:20, okay she had 40mins. "Okay, I'll be back."

"Happy exploring!" Miho chirped.

Hikaru smiled and left their lodge.

Xxx

The lights were still on and she walked around. It wasn't too cold or too hot, her sweater was perfect. She must have been walking around for at least 20mins already, which meant she had 20mins left. She did sight see for quite a while and she felt that it was enough. She turned around and she bumped into somebody. "O-Oh…sorry."

"It's alright."

Hikaru looked up at the person she bumped into. She recognized that voice."Oh, Rin!"

Rin nodded. "Hi Hikaru, taking a walk?" He asked. _Duh, of course she is. What else would she be doing?_

Hikaru nodded. "I'm just about to head back…but I don't know how to…" She said sheepishly.

Rin smiled a bit. "Come with me, I'll walk you back. I had to walk Gou back earlier today."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Rin replied, turning around. "It's dangerous for a girl to be walking alone at night."

Hikaru blinked then she smiled. "That's sweet of you, Rin."

"…Come on, let's get going." Rin took a few steps forward.

Hikaru ran to catch up to him.

"So how's this training regimen?" Rin asked. "Gou told me about it."

"It was tiring to be honest. But with more practice, I'm sure I'll get it!" Hikaru grinned.

Rin couldn't help but smile a bit. Her smiles were contagious. "Ah, that's good."

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah."

Rin's smile disappeared. "Is Makoto doing okay?"

Hikaru turned to him. "What do you mean?"

 _She doesn't know?_ Rin hesitated to tell her. It wouldn't be wrong to tell her, she doesn't know them from middle school like he does. He didn't want to tell her because he knows she'd probably go up to Makoto and ask him directly. And when Makoto would ask how she knew that, she'd say Rin told her and then…

Ugh.

Hikaru doesn't know about their history. And Rin wasn't going to tell her tonight.

"Just…keep an eye on him, okay?" Rin said, rubbing the back of his head and looking away. "Don't tell anyone I asked you to do so."

Hikaru found it cute that he was embarrassed. She let out a giggle.

A blush crept up on his cheeks. _Damnit, that's the second time she's seen me embarrassed._

Hikaru titled her head to the side. "Do you Haru, Makoto and Nagisa have a history?"

 _Damn, she got me._ "Umm…" He hesitated.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Hikaru said.

 _Wait a minute…_ "You're Nagisa's cousin, how don't you recognize me?"

"Recognize you?"

"Yeah, I was…" Rin sighed. "I was in a swim club in middle school with Nagisa, Haru and Makoto. Gou always came to watch me swim; you never came to see Nagisa?" He asked.

"I wanted to, but mom and dad refused. I don't know why though." Hikaru replied. "I wish I would have gone…"

"Well, at least they allowed you to come on this trip, right?"

"They don't know about this trip." Hikaru said. "I didn't tell them."

"Why not?"

"Because they're not here."

Rin's eyes widened. Her parents are…? He looked over at her, to see her frowning. He felt like an asshole for asking that. He put that frown on her face. He'd do anything to wipe it off. "Hey, hey, hey, why don't we go for ice cream?"

Hikaru looked up at him. "There is an ice cream shop around here? I didn't see one."

"Yes, there is. Come on."

Hikaru checked the time. "I have 10 minutes, and then I have to go back to the lodge."

"That's enough time. The shop closes at 9 anyways."

"Gou told me you don't like sweet things."

Rin stopped walking.

"Rin, you don't have to take me to an ice cream shop to cheer me up okay?" Hikaru smiled. "It was really sweet what you did though."

Rin turned around. "…You're welcome." He replied. "Wait, what were you two talking about to make that topic come up?"

Hikaru blushed. "Oh, er…no reason."

He raised a brow.

"…Well, you helped me last night and I wanted to say thank you."

"You don't have to make me anything." Rin said. _Wait a minute…_ "Anything…sweet I mean." He corrected.

"So what do I make you?" Hikaru asked.

"You honestly don't have to make me anything." Rin said. "A 'thank you' from you was enough."

Hikaru smiled. "Okay."

"Hey…do you-"

" _HIKARU_!"

Hikaru jumped and checked at the time. 9:03 _Oh no…_ "I'm sorry, Rin! I'll see you around!" She began running towards the lodge. "Happy training!"

Rin smiled a bit. "See you around." He said back, but she didn't hear because she was out of earshot.


	4. Chapter 4

The training camp came and went by in a flash and now there were only 5 days left until prefecturals. Each member and Gou was at the pool swimming and Gou was timing them.

Haru touched the wall and was finished with his lap.

Gou stopped the time. "Amazing, Haruka-senpai! That's another personal best!" She told him. "The training camp from hell paid off!"

Nagisa swam over to her. "What about me?"

"Uhm…" Gou looked at her timer. "You need to work harder, Nagisa-kun."

"Still, I think we came a long way in such a short time." Makoto said. "And Rei's been improving his butterfly time." He added.

"It helps that Rei-kun is pretty built from the pole vaulting he's done." Gou said.

"How about me, Gou?"

"You need to work harder too, Hikaru." Gou replied.

Hikaru nodded. "Okay."

"But, that's not good enough. We must aim higher; find a proper coach!"

"What? Find a coach now?" Nagisa asked.

"Isn't it too late?" Hikaru asked.

"It's never too late to start." Gou replied. "Even if someone can help provide some last minute conditioning, we'll be in better condition for the tournament!"

"A coach would certainly help." Makoto said. "But there is no one available."

"That's why we have to look harder!"

Xxx

Haru, Makoto, Rei and Nagisa were eating lunch when Gou and Hikaru walked over to them.

"Everyone! I printed out the pictures from our training camp."

Nagisa gasped. "Lemme see!"

Hikaru sat next to Gou and began placing the pictures on the floor.

"You took a whole bunch!" Nagisa commented.

Rei laughed. "Everybody's having fun!"

Nagisa pointed to one. "Haru-chan! Look at this one! He has a funny look on his face!"

"And he's actually looking at the camera for once." Makoto commented.

Haru sent a glare over at Makoto.

Rei was looking at a picture. "What is with this picture? It's not beautiful at all!"

"Um, preserving the moment?"

While the rest were looking at pictures, Gou was showing them pictures of the Samezuka academy swimmers and telling them who would be in the same event as them since it didn't apply to her, Hikaru was in her own little world. A picture caught her eye. It was a group one. Miss Amakata, herself and Gou were smiling and over them were the 4 boys. They were all smiling too, yes, even Haru. It was the last day of the training camp and they were getting ready to leave. They were wearing their swim club track suits and Hikaru had suggested one final picture before they left. The picture was angled so that you could see the ocean in the background.

This picture was a memory she wanted to keep. She wanted to bring this home and put it in her room.

Xxx

It was finally the day of prefecturals. It seemed like only yesterday when they were at the training camp. Time went by really fast. Hikaru was really nervous but she knew that with everyone's support, she could do it. She smiled to herself and looked at the group photo she had pinned to her mini cork board. She swung her bag over her shoulders and went to meet her classmates in front of the shrine.

"Today's the big day."

The second years walked to their meeting place where they were supposed to meet Nagisa and Rei.

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa waved. "Check this out." He pointed to Rei. "Rei-chan was so nervous, he didn't get any sleep!"

"I wish I had nerves of steel like you." Rei told him.

"You'll get there soon enough." Nagisa said. "Just relax."

"That's right."

"You say that but I still can't help but feel nervous."

"So I'm not the only one!" Rei looked over at Hikaru. "It's nice to know that you're nervous too, Hikaru-senpai! And that I'm not the only one."

"It's normal to be nervous." Makoto commented.

"I was able to get some sleep though."

Rei grabbed the sides of his head.

"Oops…I shouldn't have said that…"

"Okay! It's time for the tournament!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Let's do our best to do a good showing and get ourselves a bigger budget!"

"Yeah!" They cheered.

Xxx

Haru just swam his freestyle race and he lost against Rin.

Everyone was shocked and Hikaru too.

Rei had checked the time. "Haruka-senpai isn't back yet."

"Oh you're right." Makoto noticed.

"Do you think he's okay?" Hikaru asked.

"He's probably taking a shower." Nagisa replied.

"He's taking a long time though." Rei said then stood. "I'll go and check on him."

"Rei! Wait up!" Makoto stood up as well.

"W-Wait for me!" Hikaru stood and followed them.

"Hold on, Rei-chan! Mako-chan! Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa also stood up and followed his teammates.

Xxx

"Wait, Rei!" Makoto grabbed his wrist.

"Why are you stopping me?" Rei asked.

"Well, it's because…"

"Calm down, Rei-chan."

"Aren't you worried about Haruka-senpai?"

"Of course we are!" Hikaru said.

The group heard footsteps.

"Rin-chan!"

"You guys…" Rin's eyes met Hikaru's and he looked away. "Right, you're all swimming in the tournament."

"Hey Rin-chan, have you seen Haru-chan?"

"Haru?"

"He hasn't come back yet." Nagisa explained.

"And we're really worried." Hikaru informed.

Rin smirked. "Was losing to me that big of a shock? He's the one who said that he didn't care about winning or improving his time."

"He's not upset about losing." Rei told him. "There must be another reason."

Rin glanced over at Rei. "What? What else matters in swimming other than winning?!"

_Winning…_

_Winning…_

_You have to win!_

Hikaru snapped out of her thoughts. "Winning isn't the only thing that matters!" She snapped.

Makoto, Rei and Nagisa weren't expecting that outburst from her.

Even Rin was shocked.

"I hate people who think like that!"

Rin's eyes widened.

Hikaru walked past Rin. "I'm going to look for Haru." She said, her voice calmer. "I'll let you know if I find him."

Xxx

And she did.

Hikaru found him sitting down on a bench. "Haru! There you are!"

Haru looked up at her.

"Makoto's race is about to start. Come on, we have to cheer him on!"

"I'll pass."

"No, he needs our support!" She grabbed his arm and began pulling him until they were back outside.

When she successfully got Haru outside, Hikaru joined in on the cheering.

Makoto came in 2nd and it was time for Nagisa's race.

Nagisa swam as hard as he could but even he got 2nd place.

Rei swam, but his goggles slid off so he ended up being disqualified.

Xxx

It was finally Hikaru's turn to swim. She was really nervous. She'd have to at least get in the top 3 to qualify for regionals. But with her lack of confidence, she wasn't sure she'd do really well. She turned over to where everyone else was.

"Go Hikaru-chan!"

"Go Hikaru-senpai!"

Hikaru smiled at them and then focused on the pool before her. She set her goggles over her eyes and got into position.

Xxx

Rin was watching her race from afar with Nitori.

"You're cheering for Hikaru-senpai right?"

"Yeah." Rin replied.

"Hikaru-senpai is a great swimmer. I'm sure she'll do great!"

"Yeah." He repeated, non chalantly. His mind was replaying the words that she told him.

_"It's not all about winning!"_

_"I hate people who think like that!"_

Rin shook those thoughts out of his head.

"Do you like her, Matsuoka-senpai?"

Rin flinched. "What?! What gave you that idea?!"

Nitori put his hands up in defense. "I-I was just asking…"

"The event's starting."

Xxx

Hikaru jumped into the pool and started swimming. Her style was the front crawl and she was doing well.

"Wow, senpai! She's really good!" Nitori told him.

Rin watched her swim in amazement. She's come really far from the last time he saw her.

Hikaru made her turn and began swimming to the end.

"GO, GO, GO, HIKARU!"

"GO, GO, GO, HIKARU!"

"SWIM, SWIM, SWIM, HIKARU!"

"SWIM, SWIM, SWIM, HIKARU!"

"GO HIKARU-CHAN!"

Hikaru finished and put her hands up against the pool.

When seeing her place, everyone cheered.

Hikaru looked at the place she got.

3rd – Hikaru Hazuki.

 _Third place…that means I qualified!_ Hikaru smiled to herself. She did it! She was really happy with herself.

 _That's not good enough! You have to get first place!_ A voice said in her head.

Hikaru frowned and leaned her head against the side of the pool.

"What's wrong with Hikaru-senpai?"

Makoto stood and made his way over to the pool.

"Mako-chan!" Nagisa got up and followed him. Rei stood and followed suit. Haru stayed up with Gou, watching them from afar.

Rin's eyes widened. What was wrong? Why was she staying in the pool? When he saw Makoto, Rei and Nagisa leave their seats to check up on her, he grew more concerned. What was going on?

Makoto leaned into the pool. "Hikaru? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, captain." Hikaru said softly.

"For?"

"I'm sorry for not getting first place."

"What are you talking about?" Makoto asked, crouching down. He extended his arms, put his hands under her arms and scooped her out of the pool. "You got qualified. You did a very good job, I'm proud of you." He praised, holding her up in the air.

Tears were falling down Hikaru's face, shocking Makoto.

"H-Hikaru-chan?"

"Hikaru-senpai?"

"Hikaru? Are you okay?"

Why is she crying? Rin thought.

Praise. The captain had given her praise once again. She wasn't expecting to get any. But that's all she wanted. Praise. And he gave it to her again.

Hikaru wrapped his arms around Makoto. "Thank you, captain." She said softly.

Makoto smiled. "You're welcome."

Xxx

After placing 1st in the relay, Makoto, Haru, Rei and Nagisa were also qualified for regionals.

They returned to school and the principal held an assembly for them outside.

"Despite them being a new club, our swimmers placed in the top 8 at prefecturals and qualified for regionals. We hope that they're able to advance to nationals. That is all."

The swim club was now standing in front of the school, looking at the sign that was hung up.

"They were really ready for this." Nagisa commented.

"It's obvious they reused an old one." Rei noted. "But it's finally starting to sink in that we won."


	5. Chapter 5

"Festival?" Haru asked.

"Yep, there's a festival for Hachiman-sama!" Nagisa replied. "Let's go, Haru-chan!"

Nagisa and Makoto were standing in front of Haru's house. Nagisa was dressed in a light blue yukata with flowers while Makoto was in casual clothing.

"It'll be lots of fun!" Nagisa added.

"But…"

"The shrine also hosts a festival for the god of water." Makoto said. "We should pay a visit before regionals, if that's okay with you."

"Rei-chan and Hikaru-chan are waiting for you to join us!" Nagisa exclaimed. "The five of us must go together, or there's no point."

"Okay." Haru agreed. "I'll go get dressed."

Xxx

Hikaru and Rei were waiting for the other members. Rei was wearing a black yukata with a couple of strips and Hikaru wore a light purple yukata with petals scattered everywhere. It was a gift from her aunt. She also had some flower décor in her hair.

"Rei-chan! Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa waved both arms, trying to get their attention.

When Rei saw Haru, he smiled. He was glad that he agreed to come. This festival wouldn't be the same if one member of the swim club was missing.

Nagisa went over to them. "Did you two wait long?"

Rei shook his head. "No, I just got here."

"I got here about 5 minutes ago." Hikaru replied.

"From afar, you two look like a couple!" Nagisa joked.

"What?! Me and Hikaru-senpai?!" Rei said, all flustered.

"Nagisa, you can't just say that…"

Hikaru laughed.

"Why're you all flustered, Rei-chan?"

"Because you said that randomly and took me by surprise!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Gah!"

"Let's visit the shrine first." Makoto suggested.

Rei pushed up his glasses. "Yes."

"Well, let's go!" Nagisa linked arms with Rei and began walking. *

A blush crept up on Rei's cheeks. *

Xxx

"Squid! Squid! Squid!" Nagisa chorused.. "Candy apples! Squid! Wow, there is a squid everywhere, alright. Nothing's changed."

"Just squiddy."

"So where should we start?" Nagisa asked.

"Don't ignore me!"

"Squid catching heaven is about to start." Makoto informed him.

"What kind of weird event is that?" Rei asked.

Makoto and Nagisa simultaneously turned to him.

"And why are you looking at me?"

"Rei-chan."

"I refuse."

"You should participate."

"No way! It sounds so…slimy."

"Give it a try!"

"Absolutely not!"

"I-I'll join you, if you'd like, Nagisa."

Nagisa's eyes lit up. "Really, Hikaru-chan?!"

"Yes."

"Okay! Oh, the event is over there!" Nagisa pointed. "Let's get going!" He made his way over to the event.

Hikaru followed him.

"Ah! Wait up!" Rei followed.

Xxx

"Hey, you're all here."

"Oh Gou-chan!"

"H-Hello." Her friend greeted. Her name was Chigusa Hanamura.

"Hi Gou-chan!" Hikaru greeted. "Hi there, Chigusa-chan!"

"Hello, Hikaru-senpai!" Chigusa greeted back.

"You both are wearing yukata!" Nagisa grinned.

"You both look cute." Makoto smiled.

"You mean just our yukata?" Chigusa wondered.

"Not exactly…"

Xxx

Gou and Chigusa went to watch the squid calligraphy contest.

Hikaru stayed behind with the boys because she was hungry and wanted to get something to eat.

They were looking for things to eat when suddenly Nagisa spotted Rin. So Makoto took Haru took look for seats enough for 5 people, at least that's what Haru believed. Makoto was really taking Haru away from Rin so they wouldn't meet face to face.

"It's possible that Rin-chan and Haru-chan will run into each other."

"Definitely."

"And that'll be a bad thing."

"I invited Haru-chan to the festival to take his mind off swimming." Nagisa explained.

"It may end up having a negative effect."

"What? He might ditch the relay at regionals!"

"He would do that?" Hikaru wondered.

"That would be the worst case scenario."

"I want Haru-chan to swim with us."

"I also want to swim with Haruka-senpai."

"And I want you both to swim with him."

"That's so nice, Hikaru-chan!"

"Really nice, Hikaru-senpai!"

Hikaru smiled. "So we have to make sure they don't meet."

"I believe so."

"Rei-chan." Nagisa put a hand on his shoulder. "You follow Rin-chan."

"What?!"

"You tell me where Rin-chan is." Nagisa said. "So then we could lead Haru-chan somewhere else."

Rei was not impressed. "Nagisa-kun, you seem to be enjoying this."

"Okay! Go to it, detective Rei-chan!"

"I probably would have been the better choice…" Hikaru muttered.

Xxx

Nagisa and Hikaru met up with Makoto and Haru at the set that they found.

"You two bought a lot of food."

"I wanted to try everything." Hikaru replied, sheepishly.

"Well, it does look good." Makoto smiled. "Huh, where's Rei?" He wondered.

"Oh…uhh…" Nagisa tried finding an excuse. "He ran into an acquaintance and they're walking around the festival together."

"Oh."

"A-Anyways, let's eat."

Haru stood. "I'll go and buy drinks."

"Ah! You stay here, Haru-chan!" Nagisa said. "I'll go!"

"I'll come with you; it may be a lot for you to carry."

Xxx

They ate and then went to play some games.

Hikaru had won a couple of those balls on a string that were filled with water, but she ended up giving them to a group of little girls. They seemed to have wanted it more. Nagisa was able to win a stuffed squid for her, which she found was the cutest thing. She wanted to go for a walk.

"Hikaru-chan, keep your cell phone on you!" Nagisa said.

Hikaru smiled. "Don't worry, it's in my pocket."

"Okay!"

Hikaru began walking for a while. She ended up getting to the pier. The water was colorful and the reflection of the lights made it really pretty. She went to sit down on a bench and stared at the water. It was really beautiful. She pulled out her phone, flipped the top and took a picture. She was going to remember this day.

Rin was walking by and happened to notice her. She looked pretty in that yukata and that smile on her face, she looked so…

Happy.

Rin wanted to be alone. He wanted to just take a walk by himself. But what made her so attractive to him? He wanted to go over there and sit next to her. He wanted to talk to her until Captain Mikoshiba told them it was time to go back. He wanted…

"Rin?"

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She saw him?

Their eyes met. When seeing him, she didn't look too happy. She looked nervous. Was it because what happened the other day? Well, he'd have to find out.

Rin made his way over to the bench and sat down next to her. "You're not with the guys?" He asked.

"No, I wanted to go for a walk. Look at my surroundings." Hikaru explained. "I mean look at the water, it's so pretty!" She beamed. "I had to take a picture of it."

"You're making it seem like you've never seen that type of thing before."

Hikaru frowned. "I haven't."

"You've never been to a festival?" Rin asked.

"No…"

"I'm sure that relates to you yelling at me the other night."

Hikaru turned to him. "I'm sorry." She choked out.

"It's alright."

"No it's not." Hikaru countered. "Rin….I'm sorry. It has to do with something that happened to me in the past."

"You can tell me."

"I don't want to bore you…or anything."

"I'll tell you what happened in my past."

"Are you sure?"

"Ya…" Rin replied. "You're a good listener…I like…" He rubbed the back of his head. "…talking to you."

Hikaru smiled softly.

Rin blushed a bit and turned his head away from her.

Hikaru leaned back and hugged her little squid plush. "My father only cared about winning and me being the best of the best."

"Oh, one of those."

"Yeah." Hikaru nodded.

"Why don't you tell him to stop?"

Hikaru tensed. "I'm scared to." She fell silent; she didn't want to say anymore. That was it. It made her recall some bad memories.

"Why were you crying while hugging Makoto?" Rin asked.

"…Because…it's the first time someone gave me praise for doing a good job."

Rin fell silent. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry to hear that." He did that out of impulse and didn't regret it one bit. "I'm sorry to hear that Hikaru." He said. Thankfully, she wasn't able to see his face because he was blushing like crazy.

"It's alright."

"Is there a chance he might find out about the swim club?"

"I have no idea. But…I hope he doesn't." Hikaru turned to him and smiled. "Thanks for listening. I feel better telling that to somebody."

"Am I the first person you told?"

Hikaru blushed a bit. "Yeah. I trust you. And the same goes for me, you're easy to talk to!"

Rin turned away, embarrassed. "Okay….now it's my turn to tell you my story."

Hikaru clasped her hands together. "Ouu, I'm excited."

Rin turned to her and smiled. It was nice to see her smiling again.

Then he told her everything he wanted her to know.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey! Put some more effort into it!" Coach Sasabe instructed. "Nagisa, you're bending your knees too much. You don't need such a powerful jump for a relay dive." He said. "Makoto, your form is terrible! You're not using your shoulders!"

Nagisa climbed on the ladder to get out of the pool. "I'm glad that Goro-chan agreed to coach us, but his training regimen is tough."

Makoto followed suit. "That's why everyone calls him Goro the demon."

"Rei, if you can't coast into the wall, throw in one more kick! Not like that! Haruka, watch your timing as you fall in!" Goro instructed. "No!" He said, irritated. "You have to watch Rei more closely! Come on! Hikaru, bend your arms a little and don't lift your head!"

…

"You guys don't know what you're doing." Sasabe told them with a sigh. "You leave me no other choice." He showed them cameras he set up. "How do you like this?!"

All members gasped in awe.

"I see. This lets them check their form from multiple angles." Gou said.

Haru nodded at the screen and went to go and prepare to swim in the pool.

"Haru-chan's being very proactive." Nagisa observed.

Haru dived in the pool.

"Yes, that's the way!" Coach Sasabe told him.

"Good job, Haru!" Hikaru cheered.

Nagisa saw that Rei was staring at the pool. "What is it, Rei-chan?" He wondered.

"His form may be perfect now, but this isn't the way I like to see Haruka-senpai swim." Rei replied. "It was more beautiful before."

Xxx

After practice, they had all went to Coach Sasabe's house to eat a hot pot. Fans were on but everyone was dying of heat. Hikaru was glad she wore a tank top and was glad that her hair was short. Since it was short, the ponytail wouldn't be sticking to her neck. The hot pot that Coach Sasabe had made was so delicious that Hikaru found herself going in for seconds. After they ate, they did some fireworks.

"I haven't done fireworks in a long time."

"Me neither."

"I haven't done them at all…"

"...Eh!?"

"Okay, well you lit it up and hold it downwards." Haru instructed.

"Okay." Hikaru did as she was told. "Oh! It's lit, it's so pretty!"

Haru and Makoto smiled.

Gou had found a picture album of the swim club when they were in elementary school. Hikaru wasn't in any of course, but she was interested in seeing her teammates when they were at the old swim club! She had saw Rin in the pictures, and she remembered what he had told her.

Rei was also in none of the pictures, so Hikaru wasn't the only one. She didn't feel as bad. But in the ones from the training camp…she was in most of. Hikaru didn't care about the past so much as the present. She was going to make her memories with the swim club now and not be jealous of what happened in the past. She met so many amazing people that were really nice to her and who cares if they're mostly all boys? So she can't swim in a relay, being on a team that supports her is enough.

Xxx

Another day at practice, Coach Sasabe was cheering them on.

"Okay boys and Hikaru! Get pumped! Alright! Keep it going!"

Hikaru practiced for her 100m event while Rei, Nagisa, Makoto and Haru practiced for their relay.

"Come on, Rei. We need to practice our exchange." Haru told him.

"Yes!"

Xxx

"Okay, I've taught everything I can! All that is left for you is to perform your best!" Coach Sasabe exclaimed, raising his left arm in the air.

"Fire!" Nagisa chirped, jumping in the air.

"That banner is really embarrassing." Rei commented.

"Don't say that, Rei! Gou-chan and Chigusa-chan worked hard on that!" Hikaru told him.

Haru saw a familiar drawing of Iwatobi-chan. "That drawing…"

"Oh! It's the one Haru-chan drew!"

"I didn't think it'd be used for this." Haru said.

"It's a very nice drawing!" Hikaru complimented.

Haru smiled a bit. "Thank you."

"Well, we'll head up there tomorrow morning." Miho said. "Get plenty of rest at the hotel near the venue."

And with that, the swim club members got on the bus and they were driven to their hotel. Hikaru wished one of the girls was coming; at least she'd have someone to sit next to. Haru and Makoto sat together and Rei and Nagisa were sitting together while Hikaru sat alone in a seat next to them. Hikaru was reading her book. It was getting so good and she was halfway done.

"Hikaru-chan! Come over here and sit with us!"

"This seat is made for two, Nagisa-kun! We'd all be squished and that's not beautiful!"

"Well then Rei-chan, you're going to have to sit on my lap then~"

"What?!" A blush crept up on his cheeks.

Hikaru smiled happily and went over.

Rei sat on Nagisa's lap and was flustered the whole time.

And it was then and there that Hikaru shipped those two.

After arriving to their destination, they went to go and get lunch and sightsee. After finished with sightseeing, the bus took them to where their hotel was and they got settled in.

Haru and Makoto shared a room; Rei and Nagisa shared a room.

Hikaru was alone in her room, which she didn't mind. The rooms that the boys were in were next to her anyways. If something happened, she'd run over.

Xxx

After getting settled in, the swim club went to a restaurant to eat dinner. Hikaru had really enjoyed it; she had found that it was really good. After eating, they had gone to see the pool that they were swimming in.

Well, at least the outside of it. They weren't allowed to see the actual pool because it was closed off.

"I guess we can see it tomorrow."

"Yeah…"

It was now about 9pm. Each swimmer was in their bed, tucked in. It may have been early to go to sleep but they needed their rest for tomorrow. After finishing the chapter she wasn't able to finish on the bus, Hikaru closed her light. She was nervous for tomorrow, but she had to do her best. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, it was time for the events. The swim club was dressed and ready to watch the other events. It was Rin's 100m event and he placed poorly.

"Rin…"

Hikaru and Haru got up simultaneously followed by Makoto, Nagisa and Rei. They had gotten in the hallway when they heard Rin shout.

Hikaru bolted to that direction and came face to face with Rin.

"Senpai! Please calm down! If you do that, you won't be allowed to participate in the next tournament!" Nitori said to him.

"It doesn't matter!" Rin yelled. "I don't give a damn about what happens! I'm obviously no better than this!"

"But you love swimming!" Hikaru blurted out. "That's what you told me!" She said, grabbing his arms.

"I was taken off the relay! Forget it! I quit!"

"You can't quit!"

Rin pushed her away from him. "I'm done swimming!" He sent the garbage can flying with a swift kick.

The noise made Hikaru jump and her hands moved to the side of her head.

Rin stuffed his hands into his pocket and walked off.

With her hands still on the sides of her head, Hikaru was shaking. His tone of voice really scared her.

Nitori put a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry about that, Hikaru-senpai." He ran off to follow Rin.

Haru was the most shocked. _I won't get to swim with Rin again?_

Xxx

While the boys went to go and talk to Rin, Hikaru stayed behind. She replayed the scene that happened in her head. She wanted to cry; she never saw him like that. But after Rei explained everything, she understood what he was going through.

But Hikaru was still shaken up over what happened and she had butterflies in her stomach. She was so nervous. She wanted to take a few breaths to calm herself. She wasn't even aware that she missed the relay.

"100m freestyle women's heat 3." The announcer informed.

Hikaru closed her locker and bolted to the pool. She was right on time and went to her starting point. She looked over at the crowd and saw that each member was smiling at her and giving her a thumbs up. To her surprise, Rin was also there. They all looked happy. What had happened? Did they win the relay? Did Rin end up swimming with them? She'd have to ask them when her event was over.

"Positions!"

Hikaru and the rest of the swimmers got into position.

He blew the whistle and they were off.

"GO HIKARU!"

"GO HIKARU-CHAN!"

"HIKARU-SENPAI!"

"Hey, you are going to apologize to her, right Rin?"

"Yes Haru."

"And confess your feelings?"

"We'll see if she can forgive me first."

"It's Hikaru-chan, of course she will!"

Hikaru swam the hardest she could. She kept Coach Sasabe's tips in mind and swam with all the energy she had. She did her turn and she was neck and neck with another swimmer.

"COME ON, HIKARU-CHAN!"

Hikaru was almost there. She could feel it! She touched the edge of the pool.

2nd – Hikaru Hazuki

The swim club frowned. "She was so close…"

Hikaru panted slowly. 2nd place, that was pretty good. There was always next year, she would have to work harder. She did her best, that's all that mattered to her.

_2nd place isn't good enough! You have to be first!_

Hikaru froze. Her father's words played in her head.

"Hikaru?"

"Hikaru-senpai?"

"Hikaru-chan?"

Hikaru finally got out of the pool and headed towards the changing rooms to change. She opened her locker and rummaged through her things. She undressed and quickly dressed into her swim club attire. She then grabbed her bag and left the changing room.

Xxx

"Okay and so… after that emotional performance, you were disqualified."

"Naturally."

"I wasn't easy to endure the staff members scolding us. They've never had someone swim in a relay for a different schools team."

"We're very sorry." The boys said in unison while bowing.

Miho sighed. "Well, it's okay. Young people get to do crazy things."

"Why did you pull that stunt?" Sasabe asked.

"Because…well…" Rei started.

"Yep, we might be on different teams…" Nagisa smiled.

"…but we're still…" Makoto continued.

"…teammates." Haru finished with a smile.

"What does that mean?"

At that moment, Hikaru exited and went over to them. "S-Sorry I took so long."

"Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa went to give her a hug. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm okay." Hikaru smiled at him, hugging back.

"Are you sure, Hikaru-senpai?" Rei asked.

"You were great!" Makoto complimented.

"Yes, I'm okay Rei." Hikaru responded. Then she smiled. "Thank you, Makoto."

Haru smiled at her. "Good to hear."

Samezuka's bus was about to leave but Rin had to do one more thing. "Hold on, captain! I-I have to do something!" He bolted to the entrance.

"Hurry up, Matsuoka!" Seijirou called after him. "Everyone else, go on the bus!"

"Yes sir!"

Rin ran over to the bus that the Iwatobi swim club was boarding. He saw that Hikaru was the last one to board so he called out her name. "Hikaru!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Hikaru blinked and stopped in her tracks. She hadn't gotten on the first step yet. "Rin? What is it?" She asked.

Rin stopped in front of her. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You know what it is."

"Is it about-"

"Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa interrupted "Are you coming? It's quite the drive!"

"O-Oh, in a minute okay?"

"Okay!" Came his response.

Hikaru looked up at Rin.

Rin took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I had a lot of things going through my mind and…I took it out on you. It was very wrong for me to do that."

"It's okay." Hikaru replied.

"No it's not!" Rin argued. "I'm…sorry." He said again, voice softer. "I shouldn't have yelled…" He put his hand on the back of his head and he turned away. "…at a girl I like." A blush crept up on his cheeks.

Hikaru stood there. Did he just confess to her? Oh my god. "R-Rin…" She whispered. "You like me?"

"…Yeah." Rin responded casually.

Hikaru kept staring at him. She didn't expect this at all.

Rin was getting anxious by the minute to find out her answer. She wasn't responding right away. Did she like him back? "Hikaru, if you don't like me, I understand, but please give me an answer."

Hikaru was about to speak but it the voices coming from the bus stopped her.

"Rei-chan shush!"

"I'm not even talking!"

"Now you are!"

"Because you talked to me!"

"Both of you shush!"

"Yeah."

Rin facepalmed. Here he was confessing and those idiots were eavesdropping. He also was annoyed that they were obvious about it.

Hikaru blinked. "O-Oh." She blushed a little. "A-Answer? Uhm, yeah…I like you too."

Rin's arm fell limp to his side. She what?

"I like you." Hikaru repeated.

A shriek came from the bus.

Hikaru and Rin laughed.

"Uhm ya…so…" Rin's hand went to the back of his head. "Want to go on a date?"

"I'd love too."

Another shriek was heard.

"I'll give you my number and we can text each other in the mean time." Hikaru said.

After exchanging numbers, they both went on their respective buses.

Hikaru climbed up the stairs.

"You're going to go on a date with onii-chan! I have to come over one day and pick out what you're going to wear!" Gou gushed.

Hikaru laughed. "Okay sure." Then her phone buzzed. She flipped the top.

_*Have a safe trip home.*_

Hikaru smiled at the text and then she replied.

_*You too!*_

Xxx

Hikaru was finally home. She went through the door and then shut it behind her. She stretched. She was going to take a nice bath and head to bed right away. She was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She took her shoes off and just dropped them on the floor. She didn't notice the other pair of shoes that didn't belong to her. She took a couple of steps and realized the kitchen light was open. Oh damnit, did she leave the light on again? She saw that the kitchen door was also open and that there was somebody else in there.

"Hello Hikaru."

Hikaru's eyes widened.

Her father.

Her father was here, sitting in the kitchen.

Hikaru stood there, staring at him. No…it can't be…why is he here?!

"Hikaru, I saw your performance at the prefecturals and the nationals and I got to say…" Mr. Hazuki paused. "It was pathetic."

Hikaru didn't react.

"There are the tournaments next year so we have time to train." Mr. Hazuki told her. "And…"

Hikaru's eyes widened. She knew what was coming. No no no!

"…I'll make sure you win."


End file.
